170 tourists stranded in China due to tropical storm

Around 170 tourists were stranded in East China's Zhejiang Province as tropical storm Kompasu approached.

worldUpdated: Aug 31, 2010 12:38 IST

PTI

Around 170 tourists were stranded in East China's Zhejiang Province as tropical storm Kompasu approached.

The tourists, including six Russians, had to stay in Nanji Island of Wenzhou City as Kompasu triggered strong winds on the sea, cutting off ship services linking Nanji to the mainland, Xinhua newsagency reported.

The tourists, mainly from Zhejiang regions, arrived on Friday for sightseeing and had planned to return to the mainland to go home.

However, the tourists were forced to stay in hotels until ship services resume after the wind weakens.

Also in Zhejiang, more than 200 tourists and residents had been evacuated from Dachen Island of Taizhou City yesterday as a precautionary measure as officials fear Kompasu may paralyse the navigation routes.

"Kompasu," which means compass in Japanese, formed on Sunday evening in the East China Sea and was moving northwest at a speed of up to 20 kilometres per hour, the Zhejiang meteorological station said.

"Kompasu," along with "Lionrock" and the eighth tropical low pressure system, which is yet to be named, will jointly bring downpours to the coastal regions of Zhejiang today and Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 32.6 metres per second.

Torrential rains are forecast to hit both coastal and inland areas of Fujian, a neighbouring province of Zhejiang, with rainfall of more than 300 mm in some coastal regions from Tuesday to Friday.

Also, all ships and fishing boats in the sea off Fujian and Zhejiang have been advised to take shelter from storms.

The Fujian provincial meteorological station said the two tropical storms and the tropical low pressure system might merge, causing unpredictable weather condition.